Owls Hoot (Echo, Dots)

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

Briarpaw raced out from the camp, she was so excited, being only six moons she had just became the Medicine Cats apprentice. "Come on Duskleaf!" she chirped, turning her white and gray head to face her mentor, Duskleaf. She was pretty sure the she-cat wasn't far behind her, but to her she seemed a million miles away. Briarpaw was only happy because she was doing the one thing she could do best, becoming a Medicine Cat. She wasn't bright and couldn't hunt, what good of a warrior would she be then? She would probably have been a complete embarassement to WindClan and her own parents would disown her. She smiled brightly and flicked her rather fluffy tail back and forth. Her second adventure outside of camp since she had left the Nursery. Her first? to the Skypool of course! She earned her apprentice name and was loving every second of it.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

[/color]

Duskleaf looked over the hills and moorland that made up the WindClan territory that she served proudly as medicine cat. Now was the time for her to take on an apprentice and she was pleased that Brairpaw showed such an interest in the herbs and poultices rather than the ferocious duties of warriors who had to patrol and defend and fight. Being medicine cat was really much more satisfying, being able to ignore Clan boundaries, treat others and not have to take sides.

The dark-pelted medicine cat's white paws alerted her that she was nearing shadow. She turned her head up to look at the approaching tree, hearing the high-pitched, excited cry of her new apprentice. Brairpaw had run ahead eagerly; apparently she had to get rid of the energy, which was why Duskleaf had let her go. If the she-cat didn't get rid of her energy, it would all be bottled up and let out sometime later, perhaps in the delicate collection of herbs and leaves. Now that wouldn't be good.

"Coming...!" Duskleaf mewed, deciding that she had better answer the gray apprentice before she thought that her mentor had ditched her or left her alone. Actually, that would have been interesting to hide and wait for the apprentice to become worried, then jump her. But now wasn't the time; Brairpaw was only fresh out of the nursery. Tricks could wait until later. They were at the Owl Tree, one of the tallest and only trees in WindClan territory, where many sky predators rested roosted, a dangerous place for incautious apprentices and naughty kits that wanted to sneak out of the nursery. Duskleaf flicked her tail and met Brairpaw's blue eyes with her own amber ones. "Watch for hawks!" She called breezily as her long legs carried her at a brisk pace towards her newly appointed apprentice.[/center][/size][/font]

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

The white and gray she-cat apprentice skirted to a stop once the tree's large shadow loomed over she, she could feel a breeze pass over her as she let out a small shiver of fear. She had heard that this was the only tree in WindClan and it laid home to many large birds of prey. She glanced back towards Duskleaf and grinned excitedly, "Don't worry Duskleaf!" she meowed with much enthusiasm, "I'll protect you if a big bad bird decides to try and harm you! Don't worry!" she flicked an ear and shook off her pelt, making it puff and fluff up even more than it usually did. She frowned when she realized her pelt looked like a kittypet, why on earth did it fluff? She bent her head to lick her chest fur down and then quickly lifted it again. There was Duskleaf, her new mentor. She smiled softly and let out a giggle, "Duskleaf! This is so much fun!" she yowled, before she noticed she was being too loud, several birds took to the air letting out loud warning calls. She flattened her ears against her head and let out another muffled giggle, hopefully there were no warriors trying to catch something.

EARTHCLAW

Large paws thumped on the ground, wind rushing past, fur plastered to his side and tail straight out. A large tom was out near the Owl Tree, the only tree in all of WindClan. He was planning on catching a large bird to feed over half of his Clan, iof that was even possible. He pricked his ears in interest when he spotted something, a bird to be exact, it was pecking at the ground, getting a worm? He grinned to himself and stalked forward, light as ever on his paws. Now you can do this Earthclaw! he told himself as he made his way forward, the large somali brown tom cat let out an angry hiss as the large bird took to the air. "Fox dung!" he growled, he pricked his ears forward, where was the disturbance coming from? He glanced around before bounding over to where two cats were, he recognized them as Duskleaf, the medicine cat with her newly named apprentice, Briarpaw, he shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh, "She scared my prey off" he commented with a flick of his tail at Briarpaw.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

[/color]

Duskleaf was able to approach the tree at a comfortable pace without running out of breath while she watched her enthusiastic apprentice approach and skid to a stop right by the base of the trunk, her gray pelt obscured by the large tree's ever-present shadow. This was an ideal place to rest after a long, hot day in greenleaf, which thankfully, was over. Leafbare was approaching soon and Duskleaf realized that she had better start stocking up on her herbs; in leafbare she would be lucky to find even the tiniest speckle of watermint and there would definitely be no poppy or thyme and catmint was incredibly vital as well. Newleaf would bring about coughs and colds and catmint was by far the best herb to treat greencough.

She purred in amusement and approval as Brairpaw declared boldly that she would protect her mentor from any kind of predator that would dare swoop down to attack them. Brairpaw really had a point there, even though she was only a fresh apprentice. The fearsome birds would definitely prefer her over the scrawny fluffball that lurked beneath the branches daringly. Before she knew it, Briarpaw's voice had risen up to a yowl, alarming many birds and setting off a fluttering flurry of feathers as the birds rose into the air, letting out sharp caws of alarm and scaring all the prey from here to the WindClan camp, but even as she did that, the gray cat didn't seem to mind; instead, an excited light shone in her eyes as she flattened her ears. Once again, Duskleaf was thankful for a bright apprentice. "Good job." She purred as she nudged Brairpaw softly with her muzzle. "The hawks would certainly prefer me over you, but they certainly won't be pleased if you scared off all the rabbits from here to ThunderClan." She added as she narrowed her amber eyes and twitched her whiskers in amusement.

Another mew interrupted Duskleaf's train of thought. It sounded quite annoyed and rough; a male cat. Duskleaf looked up to see a great brown tom, pelt fluffed up as his fur stood up stiffly. He was obviously annoyed and affected greatly by Brairpaw's accidental slip of maw. "Hello Earthclaw." She mewed, dipping her head as she flicked her ear towards Brairpaw. "I don't suppose you would mind explaining to the little fluffball how dangerous it is to ruffle a hawk's feathers?" She asked with a gleam in her eye, hinting at an exaggerated, frightening story. Surely the warrior had one up his sleeves for the hyperactive apprentice. It was always nice to accept help from another cat, even if he was a warrior. There were always things that others could share; especially experiences and such like that.[/center][/size][/font]

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

Briarpaw pricked her ears forward as Duskleaf approached the tree with ease. She smiled and turned around in a circle quickly. Delighted with herself and everything she was doing. Briarpaw was completely unaware that they might need to start collecting herbs before leaf-bare approached them. There were still quite a few herbs that would have to be collected, gathered and assorted in the storage back in camp in the medicine cats den. The thought only occured to her when a fresh breeze of wind swept over her. She felt a shiver go through from her spine to her tail. She wondered what type of herbs they would collect and how she would ever memorize each and every one of them, and even what they did to cure her Clanmates.

Briarpaw smiled and glowed at the praise from her mentor, Duskleaf. The young fluffy gray she-cat apprentice could already tell that she was going to love every bit of being an apprentice to the medicine cat and hoped to learn everything that was possible. Her ears flattened quickly though as she heard pawsteps, they sounded angry, she peeked up at Earthclaw shyly, her usual chattery self faded as she heard what the warrior had said 'she scared off my prey' Briarpaw frowned and shook her head, tail dragging on the ground she glanced at her mentor, Duskleaf as if asking, 'what do I do?' she muttered an apology to the large muscular brown somali tom. Her ears pricked forward rather quickly at the mention of what Duskleaf said, 'I don't suppose you would mind explaining to the little fluffball how dangerous it is to ruffle a hawk's feathers?' How dangerous it was? It couldn't be all that but, but figuring that she couldn't catch a mouse even if her life depended on it, she didn't figure she'd be caught dead catching a hawk. She glanced expectantly at the tom cat warrior, waiting, wondering.

EARTHCLAW

The large brown somali narrowed his eyes slightly, "Next time, watch what your doing" he growled to Briarpaw, who was merely looking at him. He almost let out a chuckle until he heard Duskleaf, the medicine cat speak directly and without fear to him. He flicked his tail and listened, "Teach her how dangerous it is?" he repeated and grinned. He loved doing this! Scaring the bejewels out of kits and apprentices alike, it was good because they would be alert and aware of their surroundings, "Gladly Duskleaf" he meowed coolly to the she-cat before turning to Briarpaw. "Not that I can ever see you catching a hawk anytime in your life" he started with a flick of his tail before sitting down and curling it around his paws, "Hawks are the most dangerous birds of prey, they can easily carry off a small kit or warrior! And if you mess with them, or sneak up on them they are sure to attack" he frowned and thought for a moment, "Say... I remember a time when a young kit named Eaglekit, thought he really was an eagle and could attack a hawk all by his youngself" he paused when he noticed Briarpaw stare at him with wide eyes. "Yes, what could a kit be thinking right?" he chuckled and continued on, "Eaglekit was foolish and the hawk took him as a threat, carreying Eaglekit to his nest where her young lived, there she ripped him apart alive and fed him piece by piece to her young ones. I remember the horror of the screams and yowls he let out, not a thing we could do either" he meowed with a shrug. He left Briarpaw speechless, he turned to face the medicine cat, Duskleaf with a gleam in his eyes.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

[/color]

Duskleaf made no response to Earthclaw's sharp reprimand to Brairpaw, but she had noticed the brief moment of pride as Duskleaf praised her. Maybe being a mentor wasn't going to be too hard after all; Brairpaw seemed quite easy to please. She hoped that Briarpaw would demonstrate the same eager enthusiasm towards learning about cures and remedies and remembering each herb and what they did. Then she would truly be a great apprentice and a great medicine cat in the future. Perhaps even like Duskleaf herself. She sure was showing the signs of Duskleaf's sense of humor and logic and SkyClan was sure to have gifted her. Brairpaw didn't even seem very indignant as she referred to her as a fluffball. Maybe it was just part of being an apprentice.

Duskleaf's eyes gleamed as she watched the large warrior. He was bigger than she was, even though he was younger, but that was just toms, bigger and badder than most she-cats; especially medicine cats. She knew that Earthclaw was delighted at the prospect of a story to tell and immediately lowered herself down, getting into a more comfortable position to hear the story in. By the look in his eyes, Earthclaw had a good one to tell. The fearsome warrior had a crafty grin as he settled down to start the tale. He began with the usual warnings. Duskleaf had heard this warning often before from her own mentor, but instead of being loud, she was too stone-like and stationary, making easy prey for the large birds. She was half zoned out and just barely realized that Earthclaw had stopped speaking. She dipped her head in thanks, looking over to her gray and white apprentice. "Well, there you have it. Not such a good idea to try tackle hawks. Even for your more experienced mentor." She said, giving Brairpaw a quick flick on the ear. "And anyways, you'll learn to defend yourself soon. Maybe the great warrior would like to help?" Duskleaf asked Earthclaw, shifting her gaze to the warrior. Duskleaf herself knew that her combat skills were quite inferior and nowhere sufficient to pass onto her apprentice. She would gladly welcome the warrior's help if he gave it.[/center][/size][/font]

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

Briarpaw glanced between Duskleaf and Earthclaw, she didn't like the warrior, he seemed to tower over her and engulf her in shadows deeper than night itself. She gave a hestitant smile and flicked her tail, her white fluffy fur stood on end, just like it always did when she was afraid, "Duskleaf..." she murmured quietly, the thought about a hawk taking off with a kit in its clutches and no one doing nothing about it frightened her to high heavens. Would she be taken captive by one? She sure hoped not! Did they like fluffy fur? A question for the birds! "I-i don't want to learn any battle moves!" she announced, jumping at the sound of her voice as it filled the clearing. She shuffled her paws and glanced away, knowing that her mentor, Duskleaf and the wise large warrior, Earthclaw would probably think rather low of her.

EARTHCLAW

The large red and brown somali laughed, sending his whole body into jerking motions, a sign of laughter. He flicked his tail and sat down, turning to face the Medicine Cat, "I'm sorry Duskleaf, but I'm sure she doesn't have it in her to fight" he meowed turning to Briarpaw, who was nearly cowering in fear. He sighed and shook his head, "Its a good thing she's your apprentice, I don't think I could handle her" he meowed with a shrug of his shoulders. To him the apprentice was merely a coward in the shape of a cat. "She doesn't even want to learn, how will you ever teach her?" He knew he sounded obnoxious and rude, but that was merely a bit of his nature. "I could teach a mouse to climb a tree faster than I could her" he got to his paws and hunched his legs back, "But if you insist, I'll gladly show her a gruesome battle move" his eyes glittered with the thought of that, maybe he could frighten her and make her want to learn to protect herself.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

Duskleaf looked at her apprentice as she murmured her name. She wondered what she wanted; after all, she didn't look too good. Maybe Earthclaw had scared her a bit too much, or maybe Brairpaw was just thinking too much. It could be either or both. The answer made Duskleaf blink in surprise, mainly because of the sudden increase of volume rather than her message. Brairpaw didn't want to learn to fight, defend herself as Duskleaf herself preferred to name the process that Goldenpoppy had insisted on teaching her. She didn't say anything, but had somehow expected Brairpaw to give that kind of response. But being a medicine cat didn't mean that one had to neglect the basics of warrior training.

From her sitting position, Duskleaf winced as the large tom's large tremors made the ground vibrate quite uncomfortably. She was vaguely aware that Brairpaw had dropped even closer to the ground and was shaking as well, the gesture maximized by her fluffy pelt. She was terrified of the huge brown warrior, but Duskleaf wasn't. "Do I look like I'd be any good in combat?" She asked draftily, as if she was distracted by something and wasn't giving her full attention to the tom. But Earthclaw was quite right, he probably wouldn't be able to handle the apprentice if she didn't set her mind to learning some basic moves. Instead, it would be a large counter force, making her performance even worse than ever. She narrowed her eyes, Earthclaw would tke some convincing. "A medicine cat would be of no use to her Clan if she didn't know the basics of how to defend herself against a vicious Clan who might want to render WindClan helpless." She told Earthclaw flatly. "If she is unable to complete this, then being a medicine cat would not be an option." She added, looking at both Earthclaw and Brairpaw and directing the statement at them both. "And our job is not to hurt, but to help and protect, so I would rather you don't do that." She added in reply to Earthclaw's suggestion. "Unless you'd rather fetch all my mouse bile and borage for me." Duskleaf sneaked her tail over to Brairpaw, curling it around her and indicating that she wasn't at all the harsh cat that she had just been.

[/size][/font]

[Ninja Dots]

EARTHCLAW

The large red and brown somali tom cat found himself with nothing to say back in response, his face flushed ever so slightly as he realized that Duskleaf had a point. He frowned and shook his head, "If it shall help you, then so be it," he meowed coolly to the medicine cat of WindClan. He had planned on hunting, but that was already proved impossible with Briarpaw was around. He flicked his tail and glanced around. The wind was blowing as usual, nothing out of ordinary, he glanced up at the sky, there were several clouds, some puffy and heavy with rain yet the sky gave no way for rain to appear, for the sun was shining bright. He pricked his ears forward and gave another nod, "We might as well start now, looks like it'll downpour soon" he told the medicine cat, Duskleaf and her newly appointed apprentice, Briarpaw. Though he doubted that Briarpaw would ever accomplish and master the skill of fighting, basic technique was a necessity. He blinked his eyes before letting out a small chuckle, he couldn't wait till he had his own apprentice, then everything would begin to work in his way once more. He glanced at Briarpaw and noted that she was still shaking in fear just at the mere thought of fighting practice he groaned and shook his head, glancing back at Duskleaf for some sort of encouragement or support to help Briarpaw.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

[/color]

The dark pelted medicine cat could help but feel a slight glimmer of satisfaction at Earthclaw's startled demeanor. She knew she shouldn't have been so sharp, but even so, she couldn't help but feel happy that she could at least stand up to a warrior. She looked to the sky in response to Earthclaw's comment. It really did seem like the sky was brewing up a storm. Oh well, Brairpaw had better be a fast learner. If there was one thing that Duskleaf hated, it was getting wet and there was no way that she was going to break this habit any time soon. "We better get to shelter soon." She commented, flicking her amber gaze back to Earthclaw, then Brairpaw.

Duskleaf noticed that Brairpaw still wasn't to sure about that and the fear instilled by the massive brown warrior had not yet faded. Oh well, Brairpaw had a lot to learn. "Come on, then." She mewed, nudging her apprentice lightly with her muzzle. "It's not a good idea to stay out in the rain, I might not have the herbs to treat you." She prompted, reminding herself in a way that she had yet to collect her herbs. "And I'll be with you in the training, it's not so bad, promise." She added, swishing her tail and springing lithely to her paws, waiting for her apprentice to join her. She had faith in Brairpaw. The little she-cat was brave enough.[/center][/size][/font]

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

The fluffy apprentice smiled brightly. The news of storm gave her much relief. She wouldn't have to fight Earthclaw, she never wanted to learn anyway, she only wanted to practice her medicine skills. She glanced up at the sky after watching Earthclaw and Duskleaf do the same thing, sure enough dark grey clouds were filling the sky. She flicked her tail and hurried to her paws, jumping up while she did so. She let out a squeak of content and glanced back at Earthclaw with almost a look of victory. She could feel wind ruffling her pelt as it blew by past her, she too, didn't like getting wet because that would mean that her pelt would take twice as long to even dry. She shook herself off making her fur fluff up even more, she looked like a rabbit. "Are we going to collect herbs?" she mewed curiously to Duskleaf, wondering if that was why the medicine cat had sat up and was waiting for her. It was true, Briarpaw had a strong passion for herbs and it was about the only good thing that she could even do without embarrassing herself or others. Blinking her bright blue eyes she glanced around, she still had a lot to learn, which were herbs and which were poisonous. Briarpaw knew she would never be as good as her mentor at healing and collecting, but as long as she had a passion for it she would be okay.

EARTHCLAW

The large brown and red Somali sighed and mumbled something under his breath. What was it with she-cats anyway? He would never understand them. He flicked his tail and watched Briarpaw calm with relief at the mention of collecting herbs instead of fighting, Earthclaw wasn't so sure if he would ever want an apprentice now after seeing how Briarpaw reacted to fighting, maybe that was just the way of a medicine cat? Either way, Earthclaw wasn't going to waste his time bothering with it and angering only himself, "Well if that's all..." he trailed off, what was he even going to do next? He didn't quite know yet anyway.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

Duskleaf looked at her apprentice as she let out a squeak of joy. Brairpaw was obviously more reluctant than she had thought before; that reminded her just of herself as she was an apprentice, stubborn, unwilling to practice her skills at defense and all too willing to know all the herbs, remedies and cures. Brairpaw would just have to learn later, the dark-pelted medicine cat shoved the thought of defense training away from her head; collecting herbs were the more important thing right now. Shaking her head a little, she mentally placed herself in her den, checking the supply of herbs. Yes, she had plenty of poppy to last them the leafbare, but they were missing borage and ragwort leaf, both essential for the Clan's survival on winter.

She took another look at the brown warrior, blinking slowly and wondering what she should do with him. On one hand, the large brown tom seemed too violent to be able to collect and transport herbs easily, but on the other hand, she could use an extra hand. "You can follow us if you want." Duskleaf informed Earthclaw. "We need to get as much borage and ragwort leaf as we can." Then, she turned to a direction, looking at Brairpaw and summoning her with a quick flick of her tail.

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

Briarpaw's eyes flashed once more as the small she-cat apprentice glanced around. She blushed and turned back to face Duskleaf, she shuffled her paws unsure of how to say what she wanted to. How could she ever become a medicine cat if she didn't know the first thing about it? She glanced at Earthclaw and she could see he had already given up on her, had Duskleaf as well? Such shallow thoughts always made her upset, shaking them away she looked to the sky. StarClan, if your listening, give me strength! she nearly shouted the words aloud though she had stopped herself just in time. Tail twitching she felt the wind brush softly against her pelt and to little Briarpaw it almost seemed like it was envoloping her in a giant hug. She let out a sigh and smiled Thank you StarClan! Briarpaw was a huge believer in her ancestors and nothing, she did mean nothing was going to make her think otherwise. Her parents had taught her that if she ever needed them and they weren't there to look to the Sky and Briarpaw did just that. She turned to her mentor and finally meowed, "Duskleaf? What does it look like?" Briarpaw didn't know what Rogwart Leaf was or what it did, she knew of Poppy Seeds and honey and such other simpletons. She hoped she wasn't embarrassing Duskleaf in front of the ever present, looming warrior.

EARTHCLAW

The Somalit tom blinked, as if he hadn't registered what the medicine cat had said, though in truth he did, he was just being thoughtful. He finally nodded and flicked his tail, "I'll keep a look out" he decided, Earthclaw, didn't trust himself enough to carry herbs, and he though neither did Duskleaf, a smart she-cat she was to think ahead like that. He took a few pawsteps forward before glancing back at them, "We should probably start collecting no?" he knew that the weather could give way any time that it wanted to and dry herbs were better than soggy ones. Earthclaw had been a frequent visitor to the medicine den to know that himself.

[» Echo]

Duskleaf;

Duskleaf met Brairpaw's eyes with her amber ones, sensing doubt and slight fear. She wondered what the young she-cat was thinking and what was still inspiring doubt from her. When her apprentice started to look to Earthclaw, she immediately wondered if it was a mistake to leave Earthclaw the choice of following them. She already knew the fear that her apprentice had of to large tom, but somehow it never appealed to her that Brairpaw would fear him that much. All of a sudden, the wind picked up once more, not anything like the fierce, angry gust that storms usually brought with them, but a nice soft one, much larger than the breeze that had been blowing in the background. Watching carefully, the medicine cat noticed that her apprentice had immediately perked up, completely dropping the fear and distress that she had before. It was like the wind filled her with new found energy and confidence which she wondered where it had come from.

When Briarpaw finally confessed her uncertainty, she let out a quiet mrrow of laughter, subsiding into an amused purr. She had quite forgotten that Brairpaw was new on the job and wouldn't really know every single leaf and herb that she would use immediately. Even so, it was still quite amusing. "Of course not, silly fluffball." She chastised mildly. "Not unless you were a reborn medicine cat would you know what I was talking about." She mewed, amusement gleaming in her eyes. "No one's perfect, remember that, ok?" She added as a soft, simple reminder to her apprentice. Even she herself tried to be as perfect as she could, but it was rather futile. Duskleaf was rather laid back with her personal expectations, but her standard was by no means easy.

Turning to Earthclaw, she gave a quick nod. "We had better." She agreed. "The rain is going to ruin the survival of the herbs and we need them." With that, she summoned Brairpaw and Earthclaw in a quick flick of her tail and bunched up her muscles, leaping forwards at a ground-eating, yet easy pace. The first thing she wanted to look for was borage. That was the furthest away from the camp; and it would be easier to come back for the ragwort later. She set her course a bit to the left, heading for one of the most plentiful places of borage that she had ever known on this territory.

[Ninja Dots]

BRIARPAW

The young fluffball of a she-cat smiled widely and spun around in a circle. She was glad that Duskleaf was her mentor and not some warrior. She wouldn't know what to do if someone like Earthclaw was her mentor. She couldn't fight, she simply wouldn't. She flicked her tail and pricked her ears forward, straining for sound, as if she could hear the herbs. She frowned, "Can't hear them Duskleaf, is that bad?" She meowed, worry settling in that StarClan suddenly didn't want her to become the next medicine cat of WindClan. "Don't let that happen!" she shrieked suddenly and glared at the ground. "I will become a medicine cat" she murmured to herself, determined now more than ever.

EARTHCLAW

The red and brown somali tom blinked, watching Briarpaw curiously. Was she throwing a fit? An apprentice? He laughed and flicked his tail, he could see completely why now that Briarpaw would never survive as a warrior in WindClan, she simply didn't have it in her to become a warrior and fight others. "You don't hear them..." he murmured thoughtfully, or at least that's what he though, he had never spent time gathering and sorting herbs so he didn't quite know. Could you really talk to herbs like you could StarClan? Was that how medicine cats knew every single herb and what it did? He was probably being foolish but he didn't mind. He flicked an ear back and glanced around, "I'll carry them." He offered.
(MEH!! Short I know, DX)